Authors

Vina is APF Canada's Vice-President Research & Strategy and leads the Foundation’s research, education, and network support activities. She also oversees the Foundation’s granting and research fellowships programs as well as development and capacity building projects. She is a frequent media commentator on geopolitics, Canadian foreign policy, and Canada-Asia relations, with a focus on India and China.

As an international security and peacebuilding specialist, Vina has more than two decades of professional experience in high-level diplomacy, advocacy, policy-making, and political risk analysis. From war zones to board rooms, Vina has worked with national governments, non-profits, and philanthropic organizations in Canada, the United States, China, and a number of countries in Africa and Central Asia.

Erin is a Senior Program Manager at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, where she oversees programs related to Asia competencies and education and spearheads the Foundation’s Canada-Asia Young Professionals Development program. 

Prior to joining APF Canada, Erin supported the Canadian Member Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP), a regional Track II security dialogue. In that role, she assisted with two Canada co-chaired study groups: one on regional peacekeeping and peace-building, and another on the responsibility to protect (R2P). She also was Associate Editor (with Brian Job) of CSCAP’s annual flagship publication, The CSCAP Regional Security Outlook. Erin has worked as an Editorial Assistant at Pacific Affairs and in the field of immigrant and refugee education in Minnesota and California.

Erin has a master’s degree in Asia Pacific Policy Studies from the University of British Columbia and a master’s degree in International Relations from Boston University.

As a Research Scholar at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Tae Yeon Eom examines the socio-economic and political issues on and around the Korean Peninsula, exploring how these dynamics influence domestic policies, regional security, and international relations. By integrating these perspectives, his work aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in East Asia for Canadian and international readers.

Woojoo Hong is a Research Scholar at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, funded by the Korea Foundation’s Global Challengers Program. Woojoo holds a master’s in international studies, focusing on International Development and Cooperation, from Korea University.

Sun Ryung Park is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the University of British Columbia. She is also the recipient of the 2023 Pacific Trade and Development Fellowship for Young Scholars and the 2024 Taiwan Fellowship by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan. She served as Liu Scholar (2021-2022) at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, and an Institute of Asian Research Fellow (2021-2023) at the Centre for Korean Studies, IAR, UBC.

Her research focuses on green transition and energy security in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan in the U.S.-China rivalry context. Her scholarly endeavours involve a comparative analysis of the resurgence of state intervention and the revitalization of traditional and innovative tools of industrial policy, driven by the intense competition among states in the green technology race.

Sun obtained her MA and BA in Political Science and International Relations from Korea University, Seoul, South Korea. Prior to her Ph.D. program at UBC, she worked at the East Asia Institute in Seoul and completed an internship at the Korea Society in New York. 

Yves Tiberghien is a Professor of Political Science, Director Emeritus of the Institute of Asian Research, and Co-Director of the Center for Japanese Research at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. 

He was a visiting professor at the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science (September 2023 to June 2024) and is a Distinguished Fellow with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Chair of Vision20, and Senior Fellow, Global Summitry Project, Munk School, University of Toronto.

David McKinnon is a former Canadian diplomat. His career focused heavily on the Indo-Pacific, including postings in Bangkok, Canberra (twice), Delhi, and Colombo. 

He was Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Maldives (2017-22).

Hugh Stephens has more than 35 years of government and business experience in the Asia Pacific region. He is currently Vice-Chair of the Canadian Committee on Pacific Economic Cooperation (CANCPEC), Executive Fellow at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, Principal of TransPacific Connections, and a Distinguished Fellow with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. In addition, he teaches in the MBA program at Royal Roads University as an Associate Faculty member.

Before returning to Canada in December 2009, Hugh was Senior Vice President (Public Policy) for Asia Pacific for Time Warner for almost a decade, located at the company’s regional headquarters in Hong Kong.

Kana Bak recently graduated with a master’s degree in international business from Sciences Po Paris. With experience in investment management and sustainability consulting across the EU as well as building business partnerships and research networks in South Korea and Singapore, Kana is dedicated to understanding and influencing diverse markets and geopolitical landscapes. She is particularly fascinated by minilateralism and the interdependencies of foreign capital flows with public policy.